Irish trainer cleared to run his horses at Cheltenham following British
Horseracing Authority investigation

Philip Fenton, the Irish trainer who faces charges of possession of banned animal remedies, including anabolic steroids, has been cleared by the British Horseracing Authority to run all three of his entries at the Cheltenham Festival next week. They include the Gold Cup third favourite, Last Instalment.

The trainer, who is due back in Carrick-on-Suir district court on March 20, six days after the Gold Cup, admitted that it was a weight off his shoulders, adding: “That’s the news I was expecting and that’s about the size of it.”

The BHA came to its decision after finding no evidence that the horses in question, Last Instalment, Dunguib and Value At Risk, had been administered with any substances considered prohibited for an in-training test.

The racing authority’s evidence gathering included a visit to Fenton’s yard last week, in which his Cheltenham entries were extensively tested and the trainer interviewed.

Key to the decision, it seems, were the whereabouts of the horses in question, Last Instalment, Dunguib and Value At Risk at the time of the Ministry of Agriculture’s search of Fenton’s premises in January 2012, when the banned substances were allegedly found.

In liaison with the Irish Turf Club and their records, it became clear that though Last Instalment was in the yard and making a name for himself as one of Ireland’s leading novice chasers, he tested negative after each of his four victories that season: at Galway in October 2011, Punchestown in November and Leopardstown in December and, subsequent to the Ministry visit, in February 2012. He was injured after the last of those and did not return to Fenton until January this year.

Dunguib was injured and away from the yard from May 2011 until returning to Fenton this January. Value At Risk was a three-year-old not in training anywhere.

The BHA statement said: “On the basis of the evidence gathered and the legal advice obtained by the BHA, the horses have been cleared to take up their Cheltenham Festival entries.”

It stressed, however, the decision was taken on the merits of the circumstances and, though it would not divulge the nature of the legal advice it received, that it was not a major factor in the decision. On the evidence alone, it seems, the BHA has no concerns about the horses.

Eddie O’Leary, brother of the Ryanair chief executive Michael, who owns Last Instalment under the Gigginstown Stud banner, said: “We are very happy to have worked with the BHA to try and clear up the situation. We’re thrilled they took the trouble to clarify the whole thing.

"We can now look forward to running Last Instalment in the Gold Cup as long as it’s on the soft side. The horse will travel to Cheltenham but we’ll have to be happy with the ground.”

He added: “We never had any doubt in the outcome. We would not tolerate any of our horses being given any prohibited substances and Philip has always assured us that has never been the case.”

Paul Bittar, the chief executive of the BHA, said: “Our objective was to maintain the integrity of, and ensure public confidence in, the relevant races at the Cheltenham Festival.

"The priority was to obtain all available information to inform our decision as to whether there was a justified and justifiable concern that any of the horses trained by Fenton had been administered with anabolic steroids.

“The findings of this investigation have not given us a reason to believe that any of the Fenton-trained horses entered for Cheltenham have been administered with performance-enhancing substances.

"Therefore there was no basis, legal or otherwise, on which to prevent the horses from running.”

Referring to Fenton’s impending court case, Bittar added: “This is now a matter for the Irish criminal justice system and the Irish Turf Club, with which we have coordinated throughout.”